This invention relates to a decorative cake protector. More particularly, this invention relates to a decorative cake protector for shielding a cake from the residue and byproducts of burning devices.
Persons skilled in the art of cake making will be familiar with the problems associated with burning the traditional and entertainment devices such and wick candles and sparklers on cakes such as birthday cakes. Wax tends to drip down from wax candles onto the icing or other surface of the cake and debris from the sparklers commonly falls onto the cake surface having undesirable health implications or, at the very least, leaving a distasteful residue.
It is an object of the present invention to alleviate the above mentioned problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto.
Accordingly, the invention provides in one aspect a decorative cake protector for use on a cake, the protector comprising:
a shield for protecting the cake from the residue or debris of at least one burning device
a support for holding the burning device above the cake; and
a decorative theme piece mounted above the shield.
Preferably the decorative cake protector includes a stand to space the shield from the cake surface. The stand itself may rest directly on the surface of the cake. The stand may be in the form of spacing means to ensure that the under surface of the shield does not rest directly on the top surface of the cake, especially in situations where the surface is for example soft (eg made of cream or soft icing).
The shield may be adapted to move relative to the stand. For example, the shield may be rotationally mounted on the stand. Preferably, however, the shield is mounted in fixed relationship to the stand.
The spacing means may serve to leave undamaged any decoration on the top surface of the cake. The spacing means may be adapted to engage a side surface or wall of the cake. The spacing means may be adapted to support the protector over the cake without touching same. For example, the protector may include xe2x80x9cspider legsxe2x80x9d extending over or around the cake to rest on a support surface such as a table.
The shield and the stand may be separate components or may be integrally formed.
The shield and the stand may also contribute to the overall effect of the decorative theme piece, the whole protector thus being decorative.
In certain situations, there may be provided a secondary larger shield to protect particularly large cakes.
Whilst it will be understood that the burning devices are located above the shield, it may be useful in certain situations to allow the candle mounts and/or prongs of the sparklers to extend through the shield and rest on the cake thereby improving the overall stability of the cake protector.
The protector may be made from a variety of materials suitable for the purpose. For example, the protector may be made from moulded plastic cardboard, cardboard with a metal skin or full or woven material. Preferably, the protector is fire resistant and accordingly its surface may include a fire retardant. However, because the protector is likely to come into direct contact with food, any materials used in the protector should be xe2x80x9cfood safexe2x80x9d in accordance with the regulations in any particular jurisdiction.
The shield may include a range of designs. For example, the shield may be fluted. The shield may be shaped like the wings of the Opera House. Preferably, however the shield is planar. The shield when viewed from a top elevation may, be any of a number of shapes. For example, the shield may be rectangular, square, oval or triangular. Preferably, the shield is circular when viewed from a top elevation.
The decorative cake protector may include cutting means to pre-cut the cake. For example the cutting means may be in the form of downwardy depending blade panels attached to the underside of the protector means.
The support may extend upwardly from the shield. The support may form part of the shield. The support may include apertures for receiving mounting or other portions of the burning device, such as the wire handle of a sparklers or the tapered base of a candle.
The decorative theme piece may be mounted on the shield. The decorative theme piece may include a large variety of shapes and designs suitable for the occasion. For example, a birthday cake for a children""s party might include a theme piece in the form of a ballerina, rocket ship, sportsman, horse and rider, or feature any one of a number characters associated with the entertainment industry. The decorative theme piece may be stationary relative to the cake.
The decorative theme piece may be dynamic. For example, the decorative theme piece may be rotatable relative to the cake. The burning device may provide propulsion in order to rotate the decorative theme piece. The decorative theme piece may be adapted to pivot or oscillate by means, for example, of a spring mounting. The decorative then piece may be in the form of a xe2x80x9cjack in the boxxe2x80x9d in which a character or other object consistent with the theme emerges from a box or other hideaway.
The decorative cake protector may be formed in a number of ways. The decorate cake protector may include a number of components which may be pre-assembled prior to purchase or sold as blanks which may be assembled after purchase. The shield may include mounting means for receiving the support and the decorative theme piece. The shield may include slots through which the support and or the decorative theme piece may be inserted for mounting. The support and/or the theme piece may include stamped out blanks adapted to slot together or otherwise co-operate to form a unitary three dimensional display.
The decorative cake protector may be integrally moulded in one piece or formed from number of moulded pieces. The protector may be painted or otherwise coloured according to the theme.
Preferably, the decorative cake protector as a whole is formed from a number of cardboard stamped blanks adapted to be slotted together to form the decorative cake protector in suitable three dimensional arrangement.
It will be understood that whilst the cake protector will normally be used in conjunction with a cake, there may be situations in which the cake protector may be used in stand alone mode for example as a simple celebration decoration which functionally holds candles, sparklers and possibly treats (lollypops).